Priority! Winter 2014

®

Winter 2014

L I FE STO R I E S

OF

G O D’S PEO PL E

Phil Cooke Producer Focuses

On Digital ‘Countries’

Making His Second Chance Count

Max Lucado’s Message of Hope

Unlikely Angel in Florida

The Gift

W

hile serving as divisional commander of The Salvation Army in Eastern Pennsylvania and Delaware, I met a young volunteer in the parking lot of our headquarters. He sur-

prised me when he said, “I want your job!” I admired his enthusiasm and wondered what opportunities God might provide that would use the skills of this young man.

I suspect the fact that I will soon conclude my current “job” as chief secretary [second in command of the USA Eastern Territory] is the cause for looking back to experiences my wife and I have been privileged to share through the ministries of The Salvation Army. Some extraordinary opportunities have been ours in recent years outside the borders of the United States as we have traveled to Argentina, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, South Africa, Kenya, and the UK. Our hearts hold on to these precious experiences with Salvationists in other countries. We also have been part of many important large events in the life of the Army in our own territory.

But even more prominent in our thoughts as we consider our past 43 years have been the people we have encountered. We have shared this ministry in our appointments with wonderful people who serve faithfully day in and day out.

Jesus said in John 15:13, “Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” This Scripture is often quoted to illustrate the ultimate sacrifice of dying that another might live. I also see in these words the high value of another way of laying down your life. Faithful service is a daily gift to the Lord and to others. It powerfully demonstrates love.

You can learn about those doing the Lord’s work from the pages of Priority! Expect to read about people who every day “lay down” their lives and do it joyfully, not grudgingly. They have discovered that what they are doing is much more than a “job.”

Here is my recommendation. If you need a “job,” some way to spend your life, the words of Jesus are your best counsel. He said: “Give away your life; you’ll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing.” (Luke 6:38, The Message) That is a gift you can give.

Colonel William Carlson Chief Secretary USA Eastern Territory

WINTER 2014

COVER STORY

®

29

FEATURES

Volume 15 No. 4

15

Reaching Digital ‘Countries’ Hollywood producer Phil Cooke is on a mission to help Christians understand that the new mission field is in the digital social media world. He has helped The Salvation Army’s Western Territory create the interactive SAVN–TV.

Mission: Intentional When a Salvation Army church partners with a rehab center in Tampa, Fla., it ignites growth.

23

Unlikely Angel Ryan Meo would admit that he’s the last person who would be an ‘angel’ for Allison Hoke.

36

Making His Second Chance Count Salvation Army Captain Daryl Calhoun had a near–fatal triple aortic anyeurism that changed his outlook—and his sermons.

43

Finding a Home at Chicago Kroc Center Anne and Saeed Richardson were looking for

Cover photo by Inset photo by

just the right church for them and their children. Saeed happened upon it through a ‘Real Men Cook’ event at the Chicago Ray & Joan Cover photo and photo above © Bret Hartman/AP Images

DEPARTMENTS 5 Upfront

Kroc Corps Community Center.

8 Who’s News

A SALVATION ARMY CHRISTMAS

51 Prayer Power

21 A Christmas Eve Surprise

55 51 Years Ago

35 A Kettle Day Gone Wrong 42 Half a Century of Bell–Ringing

The Light Will Come

P

rophecy isn’t always future–telling, but it’s always truth–telling. At least 400 years before Jesus was born, Isaiah told the truth about

Him. He would be called “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Yet He would be given to us as a Child, a Son. Chick Yuill uses those words of Isaiah in the first verse of his song, “The Light Has Come.” He ends the verse with the prophecy: “To those who walk in darkness, the Light has come.” (Isaiah 9:2) I love the light imagery that permeates Jesus’ story. His birth took place in darkness, but a brilliant star pierced the black sky. As shepherds watched their flocks, an angel came to them, blazing with the glory of the Lord. Then came the heavenly host, singing about the Child. My guess is, they brought some more “glory” with them.

In the second verse of his song, Yuill cites some more truth–telling about Jesus:

…promoting prayer, holiness, and evangelism through the life stories of God’s people

THE SALVATION ARMY Territorial Leaders USA Eastern Territory Commissioner Barry C. Swanson Commissioner Sue Swanson

Chief Secretary Colonel William Carlson

Editor Linda D. Johnson

Art Director Keri Johnson

He is “Son of God, Son of Man, Word of God incarnate.” (John 1:14) Yuill de-

Senior Designer

scribes this Jesus as our “Suffering Savior, Glorious risen Lord.” Then he quotes the

Saoul Vanderpool

very familiar John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, He gave His only Son.” Yuill ends the verse with more of that beautiful light imagery: “No more we walk in darkness, the Light has come.” In the first verse, it was “those” who walked in darkness who received the Light. Now it’s us. It’s personal! Jesus came to give us the chance to stop living in darkness and choose the Light.

The last verse of the song is triumphal with truth–telling, once again straight out of Scripture, from Revelation and Philippians. This Jesus, this glorious risen Lord, is now called “King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Son of God exalted, Name above ev’ry name, Lamb upon the throne.”

Then comes some more truth–telling: “This King will come again, The Father’s only Son.” When that happens, everything changes. The descending–further– into–darkness world that surrounds us now will be forever changed. “No more a world in darkness, The Light will come.”

Oh, Father, thank you for sending Your Son, the Light of the world, on that long–ago Christmas morn. Oh, Jesus, thank You for suffering, dying, and rising again, so that we can walk in light. Oh, King of Kings, come again soon, to dispel the darkness, once and for all. And in the meantime, let us so shine that others will be drawn to Your Light.

This Christmas and throughout the new year, let’s be truth–tellers about Jesus.

Editor

Contributing Editors Warren L. Maye, Robert Mitchell

Contributing Writers Bill Bihlman, Kelly Collins, Darlene Harvey, Daryl Lach, Warren L. Maye, Evelyn Merriam, Robin Schmidt, Robert E. Thomson, Anne Urban, Gail Wood

Graphic Designers Joe Marino, Reginald Raines

Circulation Deloris Hansen

Marketing Christine Webb

SALVATION ARMY MISSION STATEMENT The Salvation Army, an international movement, is an evangelical part of the universal Christian Church. Its message is based on the Bible.

Its ministry is motivated by the love of God. Its mission is to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to meet human needs in His name without discrimination.

Priority! is published quarterly by The Salvation Army USA Eastern Territory. Subscriptions are $8.95 per year; bulk rates available. Write to: Priority!, The Salvation Army, 440 West Nyack Rd., West Nyack, NY 10994–1739.

Volume 15, No. 4, Winter 2014. Printed in USA. Postmaster: Send all address changes to: Priority!, 440 West Nyack Road, West Nyack, NY 10994–1739.

Priority! accepts advertising. Copyright ©2013 by The Salvation Army, USA Eastern Territory. Articles may be reprinted only with written permission.

USA National website: www.SalvationArmyUSA.org

EVANGELICAL EVANGELICAL

PRESS ASSOCIATION

PRESS ASSOCIATION

Upfront: Media Takes Two Christmas Movies Feature Salvation Army

Trailers: www.thechristmascandlemovie.com

‘Christmas Candle’

http://preview.tinyurl.com/pca5xoo.

‘Silver Bells’

Hans Matheson (left) plays a pastor who helps The Salvation Army in ‘The Christmas Candle.’

F

ilms with two very dif-

the village candlemaker and

ferent stories will feature touches a single candle. Who-

with The Salvation Army,” says Melany Ethridge, spokesperson

ever lights the Christmas candle

for the film. “He is in Salva-

receives a miracle on Christmas

tion Army regalia and working

In “Silver Bells,” Bruce Box-

Eve. But the film is set in 1890,

alongside other Salvation Army

leitner plays a TV anchor, Bruce

at the dawn of the electric age,

members as they’re serving in a

Dalt, who is assigned to com-

so the centuries–old tradition is

soup line in England.”

munity service with the Army

threatened.

The Salvation Army

this holiday season.

after he throws a basketball at a referee.

“The Christmas Candle,”

Hans Matheson (“Clash of

the film, which also marks the

the Titans,” “Sherlock Holmes”)

feature–film debut of Scottish

plays Rev. David Richmond, who singing sensation Susan Boyle.

based on a novel by Max

is seen helping The Salvation

Lucado, is set in the English

Army in the film.

countryside in the village of

“He plays a pastor who is out

Gladbury. Legend has it that

of the pulpit for the time being

every 25 years, an angel visits

and so is temporarily working

www.armyconnections.org

Max Lucado has a cameo in

In “Silver Bells,” the Army plays a pivotal role throughout the film, according to a release from the Michigan Film Office.

In the film, Antonio Fargas

5

Upfront: Media Takes set,” said Major Bob Mueller, the Salvation Army’s coordinator for Kent County, Mich.

The film, which opened Oct. 29, was produced by 10 West Studios and directed by Howard Cronk.

“We just couldn’t be more excited to have the support of The Salvation Army, and the Antonio Vargas as a Salvation Army officer in ‘Silver Bells.’

plays a Salvation Army officer

“It was really neat when

message that the movie puts out there is so strong and so important,” Cronk said.

who helps Dalt, a hypercom-

I opened the door and saw

“The Christmas Candle,”

petitive father, to find his way.

all the equipment out there

set to debut Nov. 22, is the first

The Salvation Army setting is

and saw our campus basically

nationwide theatrical release for

authentic.

transformed into a Hollywood

EchoLight Studios.

Move Over, Downton Abbey, It’s Maggie’s Tale

“D

ownton Abbey” fans will be attracted to Maggie’s Tale, set at the end of the Victorian era, a decade or two earlier than the PBS series.

We can easily visualize some of the challenges Maggie faces as she arrives, fresh from a rural Irish family, to become a servant in a grand English house.

Author Peter M. Cooke introduces readers to Maggie and another servant girl, Lucy, and tells of their vivid encounters with The Salvation Army.

6

When they attend SA meetings out of curiosity, their employers threaten them with the loss of their jobs and lodging.

Says Cooke, “Salvation Army early–day members were often cruelly persecuted by the licensed trade and to a degree by the Established Church: the latter probably due to lack of understanding of its methods. By the year 1900, when this book commences, the days of the riots in the streets were over, but the Army was still not thought ‘respectable’ in some quarters.”

Cooke generally writes nonfiction (Eric Ball—the Man and His Music, Eric Ball—His Words and Wisdom, as well as numerous poems and songs).

In Maggie’s Tale, he succeeds in bringing early Army history to life in this well–researched fictional account. The book could be the first of a number of volumes exploring how people from all social situations became part of the ongoing Army saga.

where to buy

Available for Kindle at Amazon.com.

Also at Google Books

—Evelyn Merriam

www.armyconnections.org

Letters to the editor ‘Wonderful Expression’ On the Job

resources. She was featured in two

It is a marvelous issue and you

articles in the issue: ‘More Than

are to be congratulated. Keep up

the Hot Dog and a Cup of Coffee’

the terrific job. Lord bless your

and ‘Church Every Day.’

ministry.

Commissioners David and

Best Issue Yet

Alice Baxendale ®

Fall 2013

Ministry of Presence

L I FE STO R I E S

OF

G O D’S PEO PL E

Clearwater, FL Editor’s note: The divisional commanders of Greater New York

‘Isn’t that what life is about?’

by Robert Mitchell

and Southern New England were WOW! I don’t know where to begin. What a wonderful expres-

After Sandy The First Year

sion of all of our [Superstorm] Sandy work throughout the [USA Eastern] territory.

I just received my copy this morning, but my email was busy over the weekend from friends, not only in the East but the Central Territory as well.

Thank you so very, very much for sharing the “Ministry of Presence,” or as Mike Orfitelli has been known to say, “Main Street Ministry.”

Brenda Beavers Union, NJ

Offering Help And Hope For Superstorm Survivors

We have just received our latest,

Vicki Berry, New Jersey divisional the Superstorm Sandy efforts there as well. We regret the oversight.

the fall issue of Priority!, and think it is the best one done yet—in years! The coverage and the photos are terrific and the stories fantastic!

We were the divisional leaders in the 1970s when Brenda Beavers was hired and thought the world of her then and more so now. But we did notice that of all the [divisional commanders] mentioned, missing were the names of Majors Donald and Some of your photos are out-

New Jersey state director of human standing and very meaningful.

www.armyconnections.org

divisions. Majors Donald and commanders, were at the center of

Vicki Berry in New Jersey.

The writer is the Salvation Army’s

mentioned in articles about those

‘Happy Ending’ Kudos and congratulations on the Fall issue of Priority! The coverage of the Salvation Army’s ministry during and following Superstorm Sandy is magnificent! We especially enjoyed the “happy ending” [story about the writers’ destroyed and restored home].

Lt. Colonels William and Barbara MacLean Manahawkin, NJ

7

Who’s News

You’ll Get Through This Max Lucado Brings Message of Hope

by Robert Mitchell

Author Max Lucado speaks at a Salvation Army 9/11 event in New York City.

B

est–selling Christian author Max Lucado has written more than 50 books and reached more than 100 million people with his writings, but he considers his latest effort one of the most important in his long career.

The book, entitled You’ll Get Through This: Hope and Help for Your Turbulent Times, was released on Sept. 3.

“It fits in with my life message,” Max 8

says. “I want to give people encouragement. I really do. I really don’t consider myself a great academician or doctrinal teacher, but more of a pastor; I like to encourage people, and so this is a book intended to encourage, so in that sense it’s really important for me.”

The Salvation Army teamed with Lucado’s publisher, Thomas Nelson, to print a special edition of the book,

which features testimonies from five people helped by The Salvation Army and a letter from Commissioner Barry C. Swanson, the USA East’s territorial commander.

Copies of the official Salvation Army edition were given out free on Sept. 11, when Max spoke at the Army’s Centennial Memorial Temple in New York City to mark the 12th anniversary of 9/11. www.prioritypeople.org

Based on the Old Testament story of Joseph, the book is sprinkled with anecdotes from Max’s 30 years as a pastor, including the last 20 at Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas.

“I’ve been a pastor over half my life,” Max says. “Just like other pastors, or anybody involved in ministry, you’re always trying to help people come off the ledge of despair. You’re always trying to help people in difficult situations not give up and not cave in. When the situation seems impossible, the river seems impassible, you’re trying to help them through.

“Over the years, I’ve just had this desire to write a book whose sole purpose would be to help people in the middle of crisis … to know God will get them through.”

Max says he chose to focus on Joseph because his story has all the elements of tragedy and deals with such issues as family abandonment, culture, immigration, linguistics, temptation, and false accusations. Joseph ended up in a pit, then was sold into slavery by his brothers and falsely imprisoned in Egypt.

“It’s hard to think of something that could happen that didn’t happen to Joseph,” Max says.

When asked what Bible verses he envisioned building the book around, Max said Genesis 50:20 is the flagship passage: “You intended to harm me, but www.prioritypeople.org

God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

Max says he worked hard to find a balance between not being glib about people’s pain while still trumpeting the promises of the Bible found in such verses as Romans 8:28. In the end, Joseph rose to be Egypt’s “prime minister” and saved his family and others from starvation.

Does that mean that every difficult circumstance has a positive end when we do finally “get through it”?

“Ultimately, yes, in Christ,” Max says. “I’m saying you’ll get through this, maybe not in this life, but in the life to come. That’s the wonderful promise of the Christian faith. But most of the time, aren’t we amazed how many times in this life God gets us through tough things?

“Everybody can look back and say, ‘You know, I didn’t think I was going to get through that when I was a teenager or a single mom or a young dad or un-

employed,’ but we have this testimony we can give that, you know what? I did get through that and actually I’m better because of it.”

Max says “despair is the enemy” and urges people going through tough times to lay claim to the nearness of God, cling to His character, pray out their pain, and lean on God’s people.

“Despair is defined as the belief that there is no solution to my problem and there’s no end to my problem,” Max says.

“You in The Salvation Army face that every time you step into a crisis. You do your best to help people and say, ‘We’re going to help you get through this.’

That’s what I’m trying to do on a spiritual level. I want people to know that God will walk them through it. I think it’s when we think we won’t get through it, that’s when despair sets in.”

In the Salvation Army audience on the night of 9/11 were surviving family members from the terrorist attacks as well as victims of Superstorm Sandy.

Many came forward at Lucado’s urging and lined the front of the huge auditorium to pray with Salvation Army officers and others.

“Sometimes we are in such difficult circumstances, we don’t need anybody giving us a message; we just want somebody to sit with us,” Max says, “But when they’re ready for a message, I’m hoping this book will provide it.”

9

Who’s News

Neo–Natal Compassion

by Anne Urban

A

s a little girl, Jennifer Minter wanted to be a nurse. When her sister wanted to play school, Jennifer wanted to play hospital. Of course, her sister grew up to be a teacher and Jennifer, a nurse. For the last 15 years, she’s worked in the neo–natal care unit at one of the top–ranked medical centers in the country, Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, Ill. Jennifer’s nursing skills are excep-

Mother and Child Miracles

D

octors had tried every procedure imaginable to save tiny Christopher’s life, but they knew that death was

10

inevitable. Some nights the baby’s condition was so grave that nurse Jennifer Minter would gently kiss him goodbye when she left her shift.

In spite of the grim prognosis, Christopher’s mother and grandmother insisted on keeping a round–the–clock vigil by the boy’s crib while his father cared for the family’s older children. Jennifer soon learned that Christopher’s grandmother was a strong Christian, but his mother had drifted from faith years ago.

As the women softly prayed and laid hands on Christopher’s small body, Jennifer was moved to hear them specifically mention each organ and system, even asking God to enable his white blood cells to fight off infections.

Slowly but surely, Jennifer began to notice slight improvements in Christopher’s condition. As she talked about her own faith with his mother, Jennifer emphasized that God hadn’t only been listening to their prayers, He’d also been answering them.

‘I told her, from a medical standpoint, Christopher really was a miracle child,’ says Jennifer. The experience renewed the mother’s faith in God. Jennifer connected the family, which depended on public aid, with the Norridge Corps’ community ministries director for social services, and they soon began attending the Salvation Army church. Now, Christopher is a happy, healthy toddler.

www.prioritypeople.org

tional, but it’s her faith–rooted compassion that has garnered her awards and recognition, including a national Daisy Award for outstanding compassion in nursing.

As a neo–natal nurse and mother of two, Jennifer understands what new families are going through when their babies need extra care.

“Having a baby is a very emotional experience; any deviation, no matter how minor, in the birthing process or the health of the baby, provokes shock and a major emotional response,” she says. “Although technically the babies are my patients, I try to remember it’s the whole family that needs care and support.”

The families she works with every day easily recognize her compassion. In fact, it’s been families of Jennifer’s patients

who have nominated her for the many hospital Spirit Awards she’s received.

She was also named the hospital’s MVP (mission, value, professsionalism) winner for extraordinary nursing.

But the approval Jennifer values most is her Lord’s, especially when He provides opportunities for her to minister to families. (See sidebar on p. 10.)

Jennifer became a believer as a teen.

She’d been raised in church but didn’t understand that Jesus’ work on the Cross was for her personally—that is, until she had an “aha” moment at camp. She began owning her faith during her last years of high school and at Elmhurst College, which is where she met her future husband, David.

“After we got married, we began looking for a church in our neighborhood and stumbled upon the Norridge Corps,”

Jennifer says. Norridge (Citadel), Ill., Corps Community Center is a Salvation Army church. “We knew nothing about the Army except for its thrift stores!”

She and David got involved and became soldiers (members) four years later. When their children, Rachel and Aaron, came along, they became just as involved and are now junior soldiers.

“When I walk into our church, there’s a strong sense of the Holy Spirit moving,” Jennifer says. “You can almost physically feel the love people have for one another.”

She says there are so many opportunities for service in the Army that everyone can contribute.

“I appreciate being the ‘hands and feet of Jesus,’ ” she says. For Jennifer, that’s true both at church and at work.

The Minter family (l–r): Rachel, Jennifer, Aaron, and David.

www.prioritypeople.org

11

Who’s News

Cross–Country Ride for a Cause With Stops at Kroc Centers

by Bill Bihlman

Bill (center) at the Ashland, Ohio, Kroc Center with then–Lt. Colonel Steven Howard (left) and Major Brett DeMichael

L

ast summer, I committed to the idea of riding cross–country. I thought it would be the ultimate challenge: body, mind, spirit. I eventually realized it would be more fulfilling to ride for a cause, to be motivated by a purpose greater than myself. After careful reflection, I decided to ride for a crisis pregnancy center in Indianapolis. I believe these [women and their children] are particularly disadvantaged in today’s society.

O’Connor House is a small, Christian–based home in the northern suburbs. I approached the board of directors with the idea. After our meeting, I was convinced this was the right organization. It was small, local, and highly effective.

Originally, I planned to start from San Francisco. Then I realized if I could partner with the practicually ubiquitous 12

Salvation Army, perhaps they could help with some accommodations. I met with a manager at the South Bend Kroc after my morning spinning class to discuss the idea. She said, “It’s a shame you’re not starting in San Diego—that’s where it all began. Home to the original Kroc.”

OK, so I’ll start in San Diego, I thought. Then, perhaps, I should visit a few Krocs along the way. Consequently, the idea to visit seven Krocs nationwide was born, starting at the oldest and finishing at the newest, in Virginia Beach. I was also intrigued by the Kroc “business model” of locating in distressed communities, helping potentially wayward youth. Moreover, I loved the fact that Kroc Centers were working “upstream” to prevent personal crises such as unwanted/unplanned pregnancies. Soon I became equally excited about this parallel mission.

I flew to San Diego on April 24 and left that following day after dipping my bike in the Pacific Ocean. The trip to Virginia Beach took 49 days, traveling 3,465 miles (80–plus miles a day). I started off camping, but in Phoenix, I sent my tent back; it was simply too heavy.

That was either a leap of faith or an act of foolishness! This became a recurring theme throughout the trip.

I had committed to finding shelter daily. Almost like foraging for food, I had to stay motivated, proactive. I stayed in a few motels, on church floors, and met people on the streets and in restaurants who opened their homes.

Most often, I stayed with members of an online community for touring cyclists.

There were some nights, however, when I rolled into town with literally no idea where I would sleep. Thank God, it always worked out!

Somewhere along the way, I became inspired to ride to Maine [after my journey ended]. After a short respite in Virginia Beach, I continued along the Atlantic Coast. I cycled along the wonderful Maine coast, eventually reaching New Brunswick, Canada. My return took me though northern Vermont and upstate New York, around the Great Lakes, and up to northern Michigan. I arrived back in South Bend on Sept. 8.

Over the four–and–a–half–month period, I peddled 7,045 miles and visited 27 States. Nine Krocs in all. I am especially proud of the fact that I was able to raise over $13,000 for the O’Connor House. www.prioritypeople.org

Humbled, in fact.

Trip highlights include: visiting Maine’s coast; careening through the Appalachians; rolling through the mountains of northern New England; crossing the Mississippi; and, of course, arriving at Virginia Beach after an 111–mile day and riding desperately through rush–hour traffic. I was thrilled to have met so many incredible people along the way—a good sign that acts of compassion and generosity are still alive and well.

People have often asked if I was ever scared. Yes. Not petrified, but definitely intimidated. There were five storms that were incredibly threatening. The worst was in New Mexico at over 6,000 feet. It

was an electrical sleet storm with 40– plus knot headwinds. The temperature dropped to 46 degrees: I soon realized that this was serious—I was like a little boat in distress—as my body temperature plummeted. There was no shelter in sight as I had just merged onto I–40 (legal in that part of the country) and it was really too late to don more layers.

After 20 minutes, I started to panic a bit. [But I made it!]

The lessons I learned were not particularly profound. I found myself

constantly thinking about three simple themes/virtues. First, be humble. The trip could end at any time for myriad reasons. Second, stay focused. It was so easy to get distracted by unrelated excursions. And third, be patient. Indeed, for me, the hardest! Nothing happens quickly on a bike, except for, perhaps, an accident.

In the end, I think I can capture the spirit of my journey with a simple Peddler’s Prayer that I wrote last December: “My Lord, make not that the journey be light; for indeed, it will be for naught.

Rather, I plead, give me the strength to cheerfully endure. I humbly beseech thee for safety. And above all, pray never to lose sight of you, Father.”

THIS END UP F U R N I T U R E

C O M P A N Y

Proudly serving the Salvation Army for over 20 years (800) 979-4579

thisendup.com

www.womensministries-tsa.org

The Salvation Army USA Eastern Territory Commissioners Barry C. & Sue Swanson Territorial Leaders

What God Is Doing in ‌ Tampa, Fla.

Mission: Intentional

by Robert E. Thomson

Q: What happens when a church and a rehab center set out to work together?

Photos Š Brian Blanco/AP Images

A: Greater numbers of people come to the Lord, grow in their spiritual lives, and become involved in the community.

www.prioritypeople.org

15

What God Is Doing in ‌ Tampa, Fla.

Majors Paul and Dawn McFarland

16

www.prioritypeople.org

T

hree years ago, the Salvation Army’s Adult Rehabilitation Center (ARC) in Tampa, Fla., and the local Salvation Army church, the Tampa Corps, began an intentional effort to bring the people of the two entitites together.

“We arranged an ARC day at the corps,” says Major Paul McFarland, administrator at the residential program for recovering alcoholics and drug addicts. “We rented buses to transport our residents and some of their families. I think we had about 400 people altogether on that Sunday.”

As a result of that event, Fernando Parson, an ARC graduate, and his wife, Amy, became involved in the corps.

Eventually, the whole family were enrolled as members (soldiers).

“That was a breakthrough,” says Paul.

“Based on the success of that first effort,” says Kathy Tedford (see sidebar on p. 18), the Tampa corps ministries director, “we determined to try it again.”

The second year, planners took advantage of the corps’ location directly across from the Lowry Park Zoo. The ARC obtained admission tickets for everyone who attended the morning service.

“That strong incentive, plus the presence of our [Southern Territory] leaders, Commissioners David and Barbara Jefffrey, increased attendance to more than 600,” says Paul.

The third annual event was in March 2013. On that day, 832 people came to the morning holiness meeting and 10 soldiers, three junior soldiers, and six adherent members (people who believe in

www.prioritypeople.org

17

What God Is Doing in … Tampa, Fla.

Jesus and make the Army their church home) were welcomed and enrolled.

Each year, the ARC’s kitchen staff provided a noon meal for everyone.

“Our guys put in some serious hours, working several days in advance as well as on celebration day,” Paul says.

Building the Kingdom Those big events are just part of the story. Throughout the year, the corps

and the ARC work together, with the intentional goal of building God’s Kingdom in Tampa.

“There’s no doubt that our Tampa Corps/ARC Family Day last March was the most visible and exciting evidence of God’s blessing,” says Kathy. “But the involvement of people leading up to that day—and since—has been both deep and wide. …

“While the corps/ARC day originally

was proposed by Major McFarland, building a bridge between the ARC and the corps was something we had envisioned for a long time. Over several years, our corps goals have included strengthening the ties between the corps and ARC.” She says that of the 200 people in the congregation on a Sunday morning at the corps, about 20 percent have an ARC connection.

Two Callings

K

athy Tedford has been serving the Lord all her life.

The child of Salvation Army officers, she trained as a registered nurse and spent 32 years caring for cancer patients.

Then, 12 years ago, Major Rick Mikles, then the corps officer (pastor) of the Army’s Tampa Corps, invited her to follow her passion— full–time Christian service.

At the time, Kathy was the corps sergeant–major (lay leader).

‘We were doing some restructuring of the corps staff,’ Kathy says, ‘and we wanted to create a position that would provide continuity when officer leadership changed. At the time, we were very insular, doing little outreach and making minimal impact on the

18

community.’

It would be Kathy’s job, as corps ministries director, to change that.

‘Our goal over these 12 years has been to build a stable corps that people would want to be part of, but also to reach out and impact the area.’

When Kathy began, fewer than 20 young people were taking part in corps character–building groups. Today about 90 boys and girls meet each Tuesday, and hundreds have graduated from the programs; many of those have continued as volunteers and/or members of the corps.

The corps also now has a decidedly Spanish flavor.

‘Because the neighborhood includes many Hispanics,’ says Kathy, ‘we’re very intentional in that we translate every service.

We bought 100 headsets so that

non–English speakers could share our services … in real time.’

Songs, Scriptures, and announcements are displayed in both languages on video screens during meetings, and Spanish– language adult Sunday school classes as well as a Spanish– language Home League (a women’s group) are provided.

While overseeing corps programs, Kathy has continued her one–on–one ministry as a nurse as well.

‘I’ve sat through the night with people who are dying; I’ve accompanied individuals to meet with doctors. So I haven’t had to completely abandon my first calling to follow my present calling.

‘I’ve been blessed,’ she says.

Countless people in the Tampa Corps and community would readily attest that she’s also a blessing.

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For McFarland and his wife, Major Dawn McFarland, that connection is an important part of their program.

“Our goal, at the ARC, is to get men sober, keep them sober, get them saved, and get them connected to a local church,” says Paul. “Some have spiritual roots and return to the churches of their youth. But the others we encourage to become active in the corps. It’s a natural.”

A number of corps members have also become involved in ongoing ARC programs.

Steve Vick, for example, is a longtime Salvationist who teaches the young adult Sunday school class at the corps.

But before that, he’s at the ARC, leading praise and worship.

“Then he hurries back to the corps to teach his class,” Paul says.

Other soldiers, including retired officers, have an impact on the ARC. Major David Waite, for example, serves as the center’s chaplain.

The members of the Tampa Corps are also looking outside the doors of the church and ARC. “We have been actively working at outreach to the community,” says Kathy.

“We do doorknob hangers advertising our fall outreach festival as well as summer day camp and DVBS [Daily Vacation Bible School].” A women’s group, Naomi’s Daughters, does outreach to families the corps helps during the Christmas season.

“We now have people regularly attending whose initial contact with The Salvation Army was the ARC, www.prioritypeople.org

Naomi’s Daughters, youth programs, and neighborhood visitation,” says Kathy.

Visiting ‘dancers’ Soldier Jill Penhale heads two other ministries to the community.

One was sparked by concern for victims of human trafficking. Eight young adult women conducted a prayer walk through an area where, within a one–fifth mile radius, four “gentlemen’s clubs” operate.

A year later came another prayer walk, but this time two of the young women wanted to do something more.

So, at Christmastime, they received permission from the clubs’ management to visit with the dancers and present them with small gifts.

“When I called the mangers to find out how many gifts we would need, I was

amazed to discover that the four clubs employed more than 500 girls,” says Jill.

“We feared that the girls would not be accepting of our friendship, but the opposite was true. They were really excited to see us, and the managers were welcoming as well.”

The team continues to do monthly prayer walks. But because they discovered that other Christian groups do a similar ministry, they now visit only one of the clubs on a monthly basis. Women from the St. Petersburg and Clearwater Salvation Army corps have joined the effort. They carry New Testaments and Gospel tracts for dancers who ask for them. Occasionally, a woman will ask for prayer, and the Army women are always happy to oblige.

“We call it friendship evangelism,” Jill says. “We’re planting seeds and trusting God to make them sprout.”

Jill Penhale works with kids in ‘The Garden.’

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What God Is Doing in … Tampa, Fla.

‘The Garden’ Literal seeds are sprouting in The Garden, another corps ministry. Early in 2013, young adults were challenged to become more involved in stewardship of the environment. They decided, under Jill’s leadership, to develop a community garden on the Army’s two–acre plot adjacent to the corps.

Jill explains that Tampa Bay Harvest, a nonprofit organization, had received a $50,000 startup grant from Chase Bank for a garden. The grant allowed Harvest to hire a gardener, prepare 20

the ground, and purchase seeds and fertilizer.

“We are partners with them, and the contract requires us to supply the land, water, and volunteers,” Penhale says.

The Garden was launched on Earth Day, April 22, 2013. Within two months, volunteers harvested 900 pounds of produce, including lettuce, radishes, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, and green beans.

“One hundred percent of the food raised in The Garden goes to the com-

munity,” Jill says. “Eighty percent goes to Tampa Bay Harvest for their food banks and feeding programs. The other 20 percent is kept by the Army for use in its transitional housing program or for donation to local families.”

About 20 percent of the Salvation Army’s land is now under cultivation.

But if the pilot program is successful—as it seems to be—the land use will be substantially increased in future years.

Currently, 40 volunteers work in The Garden. On average, Jill says, 10 volunteers each week contribute a couple of hours each.

Even here, outreach is intentional.

“We have eight supervisors, half of whom are Salvationists,” Jill says.

“Whenever The Garden is open for volunteers to work, a supervisor is present to answer questions about the Army and the Lord.”

She says that she thinks William Booth, the Army’s Founder, would approve. In the last quarter of the 19th century, he started many “out–of–the– box” programs to meet the physical and spiritual needs of the poor.

Already, plans are underway for the fourth annual ARC/corps celebration day. That event began when Majors Danny and Dawn Heard were the Tampa corps officers (pastors) and the new officers, Majors Brian and Loretta Gilliam, enthusiastically support it.

“The committee is considering erecting a tent to hold the 1,000 people they’re expecting, and we eagerly look forward to seeing what God will do,” says Brian. www.prioritypeople.org

A Salvation Army Christmas

Christmas Eve Surprise

by Robert E. Thomson

I

t was Christmas Eve 1951. Captain and Mrs. Houston Ellis and their small congregation at the Bradenton, Fla., Corps of The Salvation Army had been busy for months preparing for the distribution of food and toys to the needy of their community.

Earlier in the fall, the women of the Home League (a women’s group) had been allowed to glean in the already harvested fields owned by commercial tomato growers. The fruits of their labor had been cooked and canned, to be included in the Christmas food distribution.

On Christmas Eve morning, a host of hopeful recipients lined up, awaiting their turn to enter the tiny building.

Near the end of the line was a rather well–dressed man, somewhat older than

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many of the others. Most folks suspected he was a senior citizen who recently had fallen on hard times and who might be seeking assistance for the first time in his life. Some even suggested that because of his advanced age—he was actually 76—he should move to the head of the line. But he demurred, stating he was quite content to wait his turn like everyone else.

Finally, when he reached the entrance of the building and was ushered in, he refused the proffered bag of groceries.

Instead he took from his pocket a sizeable check, made payable to The Salvation Army, and placed it on the table. It was a personal donation to the Army’s Christmas fund, and the check was signed by J(ames) C(ash) Penney.

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Salvation Story

Unlikely Angel

Photos Š Brian Blanco/AP Images

by Robert E. Thomson

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www.prioritypeople.org

A

llison Hoke’s sparkling hazel eyes fairly dance when she talks about Jesus and the dramatic change He has made in her life.

It’s a stark contrast to her blank stare in the mug shot on file at the Pinellas County Jail, taken in September 2010, when she was booked on drug charges for the fifth time.

The turnaround in her life, Allie says, happened because she met an “angel” named Ryan Meo. An unlikely angel he was. Ryan himself had been bruised and wounded in the battles of life as much as Allie had been.

“When I was 14,” he says, “my friend’s older brother, who was a gang member, invited several kids my age to his house.

He thought it would be fun to get the younger kids high.”

On that occasion Ryan smoked marijuana for the first time. “At first I didn’t like the way it made me feel. But I did like the fact that it made me forget who I really was.

“Very quickly, being a pothead became my identity, including the clothes I wore and the way I spoke. I thought it was cool, and I wanted to be cool.”

Before long, Ryan was using stronger drugs, and he was suspended from high school before completing his sophomore year.

Assigned to an alternative high school, he made good grades, graduated, and even began college. But when he was 19, he was arrested for possession and sale of drugs.

“That experience shook me, and I www.prioritypeople.org

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Salvation Story

tried to get my act together,” Ryan says.

“I got a well–paying job repairing computers and working in a ‘geek squad.’ ” He moved out of his parents’ home and got an apartment. “At the time, I was on probation,” he said. “That was the only thing keeping me from doing drugs, which I really wanted to do.”

Desperate for help

Braving The Pain

R

yan Meo, an avid bicyclist, rides almost every day for exercise and pleasure.

Last January, on a Saturday afternoon, riding down a steep bridge, he lost control and crashed. When the medics arrived, they discovered Ryan had a serious and painful compound fracture of his left arm. Ever aware of his previous addiction, he chose to endure the severe pain; he asked the paramedics to not give him any narcotic medication on the way to the hospital.

Following reconstructive surgery, under the strict supervision of a

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physician, he did allow narcotics to be prescribed.

‘God was with me all the way,’ Ryan says. ‘About 10 minutes earlier, another cyclist crashed on that same bridge, and he did not survive. I believe God protected me so that I may continue to follow His will.’

When he got off probation, things spiraled downhill for Ryan.

“I had plenty of money, and I could get high as often as I wanted,” he says.

“But before long I lost my job, and my money was gone. I began trading my possessions for drugs, and soon I had literally nothing. So I began to steal. As a result, I got into trouble with the law.

My family didn’t want anything to do with me, and I didn’t have any friends.”

In desperation, he contacted a detox clinic but was told there was a two–week waiting list. As a last resort, he made his way to his parents’ home and spent the night in a backyard swing.

“I remember crying out to God to save me,” he says. “I’d done it before, but hadn’t really meant it. This time I felt my only options were to get rid of my addiction or commit suicide.”

The next morning Ryan’s mother found him and called the same clinic that had turned him down the day before.

“I don’t know what she said to them,” Ryan confessed, “but that very day I was admitted.”

In the clinic Ryan met a number of men who had been at the Salvation www.prioritypeople.org

Army Adult Rehabilitation Center.

They reported that the food was great; exercise facilities were available; and they were treated well.

“Hey, that sounds like my kind of place,” Ryan told them. So when his 21–day stint at the detox center ended, he headed for the ARC.

A new plan from God “My plan was to stay there a month, long enough to get my parents off my back, and then learn to get high and drink like a ‘normal’ person,” Ryan recalls. “But what I found was Jesus!”

Although Ryan invited Jesus into his heart, it was a long road. Fourteen months later he was still at the ARC, but he had been growing in the Lord.

He began attending the Salvation Army’s Clearwater Citadel Corps (church), and in the summer of 2011 was given an opportunity to attend the Southern Territorial Youth Institute (TYI), a Bible and leadership camp.

“It was an eye–opening experience,” Ryan says. “I met scores of young men and women my age who love and serve the Lord. And I saw The Salvation Army in a new light.”

Although he was not yet a soldier (member of The Salvation Army), at TYI, Ryan felt God calling him to be an officer. “My first thought was, ‘God, You must be joking. I’m so new in the faith, and I know so little about the Army.’ ” But Ryan took steps toward his calling. He was enrolled as a soldier in November 2011 and has been accepted as a cadet (student) in the training session www.prioritypeople.org

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Salvation Story

beginning next September. Currently he serves as the corps program assistant in Clearwater.

He has been clean since September 2, 2010, two days before his 24th birthday.

“That sobriety date holds a lot more significance for me than my actual birthday,” he says.

Although Ryan is alcohol– and drug–free, he still attends support group meetings, both for his own sake and for the sake of others.

Allie’s story It was at such a meeting that he encountered Allie, whose story is not unlike Ryan’s own.

Allie grew up in a home she describes as “fairly normal.” “When I was a child,” she recalls, “my mom always enrolled my two brothers and my sister and me in Daily Vacation Bible School, just to get us out of the house, I think. But my family was never big on church.”

When Allie was 12, her parents divorced. “My mom drank a lot, and she had boyfriends,” Allie says. “I was always getting kicked out of the house.”

Allie was only in sixth grade when she began running with the wrong crowd. “I started partying,” she says. “But it didn’t happen too often because I was too young to get my hands on what I wanted at the time.”

By the time Allie got to high school, she was drinking and/or using some kind of controlled substance every day.

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“I began skipping school, sometimes just a class or two, then days at a time,” she says. “When I was 16, at the beginning of my junior year, I quit school. I was about to be kicked out because I had

missed so many days. And besides, most of the kids I hung out with had already dropped out, and all we wanted to do was party.

“What a difference it would have www.prioritypeople.org

made if an angel had come into my life back then,” Allie muses. But it wasn’t to be.

Two weeks after turning 18, Allie went to jail for the first time, convicted of DUI. www.prioritypeople.org

“I didn’t even care,” she says. “Instead of being afraid or deterred by having been incarcerated, I felt going to jail was like a badge of honor among my peers.

“After that I was really on a down-

ward roll. I was in an abusive relationship. I couldn’t hold a job, because I needed to drink and use [drugs] during the day, or I’d be sick.”

Finally, Allie was court–ordered into a residential corrective program, where she stayed for six months. She attended support group meetings, where she met several people who had sought help at the Salvation Army’s St. Petersburg Adult Rehabilitation Center (ARC).

Among them was Ryan Meo, whom she describes as “an angel sent from God.” He told her how helpful his Salvation Army associations had been and invited her to become a volunteer at the Tuesday night activities for young people, many of them from disadvantaged homes.

Allie knew firsthand some of the problems and temptations the young people were facing. She herself had been a child of neglect, had been beaten and robbed, and had low self–esteem.

When her “angel” invited her to work with others, Allie was reluctant. “I didn’t feel good enough to be there,” she says.

But other volunteers accepted her, and she found fulfillment in helping others.

She began attending Sunday meetings and, one day, accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior.

Today Allie is working, as well as taking some college courses, with a long–range goal of becoming a social worker. She gives all the glory to God for the changes in her life, but she suspects they wouldn’t have happened without the influence of an unlikely angel named Ryan.

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Serving the World

Reaching Digital ‘Countries’ Photos © Bret Hartman/AP Images

by Robert Mitchell

www.prioritypeople.org

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Serving the World

H

ollywood producer Phil Cooke sits in his Burbank, Calif., office talking about the digital future and excitedly reminds anyone who will listen that Facebook has 1 billion users. Based on population, Facebook would be the third largest country in the world.

“My question whenever I speak at conferences or at workshops is, ‘Who is sending missionaries to that country?

Who’s planting churches in that country?’ ” Phil says.

“I think we need to change our thinking about missions from just being about geographic boundaries and start thinking about missions in terms of digital boundaries. [Those are] the digital countries of the future where I think we need to go reach.”

One of the few producers in Hollywood with a doctorate in theology, Phil helps some of the largest and best–known Christian organizations and nonprofits better engage the culture through his company, Cooke Pictures.

Phil’s firm has worked with a long list of impressive clients, including Billy Graham, Joel Osteen, Joyce Meyer, YouVersion Bible, American Bible Society, Jesus Film Project, Mercy Ships, Back to the Bible Ministries, Campus Crusade for Christ, and some of the largest churches in the country.

“Generally speaking, I’m the guy that really helps Christians engage the culture more effectively through media,” Phil says.

He worked with The Salvation Army’s USA Western Territory to help develop The Salvation Army Vision 30

Hollywood producer Phil Cooke stands on a set at CBS Studios in Los Angeles.

Network, or SAVN. (See sidebar on p.

32.)

“I think the fact that The Salvation Army is such a large organization, has such a large footprint around the world, uniquely positions it to make an incredible impact on the culture.”

“We live in a media–driven culture, and I think if the church cannot be effective in the way it engages culture through media, we’re going to lose a generation. So I’m very passionate about social media, broadcast media, short films, videos, all those tools, because this digital generation really feeds off those and that’s the way to make an impact.”

Just as the church initially fought the printing press, Phil says some Christians are opposing the digital revolution despite the fact that more people now get their news digitally than from a newspaper.

Accepting the future “The history of the church has been a history of being slow to embrace change,” he says. “I think that’s a real key factor here.

“Our job is to help the church and Christians understand those media.

The culture is not determined these days by politics; it’s not determined by government; it’s determined by popular culture. The way we engage technology and communication tools to reach this generation is absolutely critical. That’s what I’m so passionate about: how we can engage this culture with a message of hope.”

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Serving the World

Phil says what motivates him is something he has seen since childhood; Christians mean well, “but very often we shoot ourselves in the foot with the way we share our faith.”

“I’ve always been driven by a desire to help Christians tell their story better,” he says. “The truth is we’re telling the greatest story ever told, but we don’t always tell the story very well.

“Our job is to help Christians understand that in order to change the culture, we’ve got to engage it well.

We’ve got to earn their trust. We’ve got to earn the right to be heard. We’ve got to become one of them. That’s one of the big driving forces behind what I do.”

Bolt of lightning moment Phil grew up a long way from the glam-

SAVN–TV: The Digital Street Corner

P

hil Cooke helped the Salvation Army’s USA Western Territory set up the Salvation Army Vision Network, or SAVN—a TV venture that is much more than TV. ‘It is designed to be kind of an online digital street corner,’ Phil

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our and glitz of Hollywood in North Carolina, where he was a preacher’s kid and admits he has a “boring testimony.”

“I never knew anything else but church,” he says. “I wasn’t a drug addict or an alcoholic or gang member.”

In high school, Phil and a group of friends made several 8mm films, which he packed and took with him when he left for Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Okla., to be a piano major.

The films fell out of his suitcase when he arrived; a friend who was taking a film class suggested they edit them together. A film professor thought they were good enough to show in his class.

Phil’s life changed forever when he noticed people talking about his films afterward.

“This idea occurred to me that hit

says. ‘It’s the first major foray for The Salvation Army into online video and social networking. It’s kind of combining online video, social networking, and outreach all at the same time.’

Phil called Commissioner James Knaggs, the USA West’s territorial commander, the ‘creative force’ behind SAVN (savn.tv). The territory put together an in–house team, led by longtime producer Guy Noland, to work with Phil.

‘They came to us because we’ve spent 35 years working with some of the largest nonprofit organizations, ministries, and

me like a bolt of lightning,” Phil says.

“I’ve never had such a crystal clear moment before or since that if I could do something with a camera that makes people talk, this is what I’m supposed to do with my life. That day I changed my major to film and television and I’ve never looked back.”

Filming in the bush Phil worked on the student crew that produced Oral Roberts’ television show and also worked there after graduation before opening Cooke Pictures in 1991.

“We took off from there,” he says.

He has produced media in some 50 countries, often in harrowing circumstances, such as when he nearly fell out of a helicopter while filming a crusade in (continued on p. 34) Jamaica.

churches, helping them engage the culture more effectively through media,’ Phil says.

SAVN–TV, he says, is ‘extremely innovative, extremely experimental, and yet that’s where the future is. We’re trying to tell Salvation Army stories online to a global audience.’

Phil says he has discovered over the years that a short film of three to five minutes can be a ‘powerful, powerful tool.’

Nearly 50 percent of people polled say that if they see a video online, they want to learn more about a subject.

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‘I think SAVN really represents the future of The Salvation Army—an effort to engage with people on mobile devices, to engage them on their computers, to engage them with short films that share the Gospel in a short, powerful way,’ Phil says.

‘One of the driving forces behind SAVN is that you may feel awkward sharing Christ with a friend, but how easy is it to show them a film?

‘We’re creating it so it will have a mobile presence as well for iPhones, androids, iPads. So, sitting on a subway in Tokyo, or

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sitting on a subway in New York City, or just being with a friend in a coffee shop in Cleveland, you can whip out your iPhone and say, “Hey, let me show you this short film” and maybe that will help you start a conversation about Jesus.’

Producer Guy Noland says the SAVN.tv site, launched in 2012, will soon be upgraded to include some ‘fantastic’ interactive studies and recovery groups.

‘Our hope is to get the entire Army world on board, unifying our collective story under one umbrella,’ Noland says.

‘If you think about it, the entire

world is going digital. Gone are the days of audiences sitting in the pews where the sermon is preached from the pulpit. The next generation of Salvationists and believers has grown up in the digital realm, interactively participating in every aspect of their salvation.’

Noland continues, ‘As an Army, we need to get on board and start utilizing the Internet as the vital evangelism tool it’s growing to be.

If we don’t, the millennial generation will pass us by and our great Army will be in dire trouble in a couple of decades.”

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Serving the World

seeing some real change happen from the inside, which is fascinating.”

Phil used to attend Jack Hayford’s The Church On the Way in Van Nuys, Calif., but he and his wife Kathleen now go to the LA–based Bel Air Presbyterian Church, which features a huge outreach to the entertainment industry.

Influence Lab

“Filming for nonprofits, you don’t go to London and Paris and Rome,” Phil says. “You tend to go to Third World countries, the desert, the jungle. I’ve lived with the Bedouins in the Middle East. I’ve been through two military coups in Uganda and Nigeria.

“Just by the nature of what we do, as we try to help nonprofit organizations tell their story more effectively, we go and film the work they do. Sometimes that’s in pretty remote and often scary places.”

Phil says he earned a doctorate in theology because his company works with so many ministries and he is fascinated by theology. He also says the number of Christians in Hollywood, long considered anti–Christian, would surprise many people.

Lead with your talent “Hollywood is not as anti–Christian or as anti–family as people might suppose,” he says. “There are people in Hollywood who worship rocks and hug trees, so being a Christian is not that weird. The 34

important thing is that you lead with your talent and your gift and not with your faith. That’s what opens doors for you to share your faith.”

Phil says he finds that people respond if he shows up on the set and is an effective producer, director, and writer.

Cooke Pictures has prepared trailers for such movies as “The Chronicles of Narnia,” “The Blindside,” “Book of Eli,” “Act of Valor” and many more. His latest book, Unique: Telling Your Story in the Age of Brands and Social Media, lays out his vision.

“If I prove my ability first, they’ll listen to whatever I say,” Phil says. “I think the mistake Christians make in places like Hollywood is we show up with our testimony first, and they’re not interested in that.”

But Phil doesn’t hide his testimony.

“I’ve been very open about my faith and sharing my faith, and the truth is there are hundreds and hundreds of very serious Christians working in the industry at a number of different levels. We’re

Phil also recently launched a nonprofit called The Influence Lab, which is busy “developing a global strategy for training a new generation of Christian media professionals,” according to the website www.influencelab.com.

A Christian radio station executive from Thailand recently told him, “I don’t need more preachers, but if I could have a web developer for two weeks, it would transform our ministry.”

Noting that there will soon be more mobile devices in the world than people, Phil says Christians have to understand that the country known as Facebook— or whatever online entity becomes cool and hip in the future—is the new mission field.

“We’ve got to understand it’s not about digging ditches so much anymore, although that’s great,” Phil says. “It’s not about building homes anymore, although that’s great. Really, we need to train mission organizations globally on media and technology.

“If I could send them a video camera guy; if I could send them a social media expert; if I could send them video editors, it would have a huge impact on missions organizations.” www.prioritypeople.org

A Salvation Army Christmas

A Kettle Day Gone Wrong

by Robert E. Thomson

Ron Smith in high school

F

our weeks before Christmas in 1978, Major Walt Winters asked 15– year–old Ron Smith to form a brass quartet to play at the Salvation Army’s red kettles during the holiday season.

Ron, a high school sophomore in Flint, Mich., recruited three other proficient members of the school band to join him.

For three weeks the young musicians played at a neighborhood Walmart store, bringing needed dollars into the Christmas fund. On the Saturday before Christmas, Major Winters asked the young musicians to move downtown, to

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play at the entrance of the prestigious Smith Bridgeman’s store.

The boys played through the morning, then went to lunch. About five o’clock they took another break but went their separate ways to do last–minute shopping.

They agreed to meet again at six to play for the final three hours of the day.

When Ron arrived at the appointed time, the others were nowhere to be seen.

He soon discovered, to his horror, that all three had been arrested for shoplifting.

There was nothing to do but to report to Major Winters, his pastor, what had happened.

The major suggested Ron call it a day.

“I’ll take care of it,” he said.

And so he did. He not only bailed the boys out of jail, but he also pleaded their cause to the store manager, who agreed not to press charges if Major Winters would work with the boys.

Ron lost track of his friends. But 17 years later, upon returning to Flint, he received a call from one of them. Only then did he discover that Major Winters had been true to his word—and much more.

He had kept in touch with the boys,

counseling them and encouraging them to live honest and productive lives.

Today, two of them are ministers of music in Methodist churches. The third is a professional French horn player in Nashville, Tenn. And Ron is the director of the Clearwater, Fla., Corps school of music, working with more than 60 youthful musicians as well as being the bass trombonist in the Clearwater Salvation Army Band.

“Major Winters not only kept my friends from having criminal records,” Ron said, “he truly exemplified the spirit of Christmas—and the spirit of Christ—by working with three young men whom he would have had every reason to despise and punish.”

Major Walt Winters today

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Health Matters

Photos Š Jeff Swensen/AP Images

Making His Second Chance Count

by Warren L. Maye

36

www.prioritypeople.org

D

aryl Calhoun and his wife, Erika, sat down in a Baptist Church in Middletown, Ohio, to hear a eulogy for the untimely death of Kevin Watts, Daryl’s brother–in–law. The pastor caught everyone’s attention when he said, “If you have high blood pressure, please stand up.” A good segment of the congregation slowly rose to their feet.

Then he said, “If you know someone who has high blood pressure, please stand up.” The rest of the people stood.

As Daryl looked around the room, he suddenly realized his life’s message and mission. In every sermon I preach, I’m going to say something about this! he thought.

The African Americans in the congregation that day were members and friends of Daryl’s family. Many, including Daryl, were on high blood pressure medication. Kevin had suffered an aortic aneurysm brought on by high blood pressure. At one point, he had been showing signs of recovery. But then his kidneys shut down and he died.

Lonnie Kindred, Daryl’s cousin, had also died that summer of an aortic aneurysm caused by complications of high blood pressure.

Daryl knew all too well about such diagnoses. Just three years before, he too had been stricken by a triple aortic aneurysm. Now 47, he was well into a successful recovery, but a weakened left side was a daily reminder of his new lease on life.

Clockwise from top: Daryl with his daughter; in the hospital after a triple aortic aneurysim; as a high school football star www.prioritypeople.org

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Health Matters

Personal Crisis Daryl’s crisis happened on April 10, 2010, in Rochester, N.Y. A Salvation Army officer/pastor, he was attending a community event on behalf of his boss, who was out of town. Daryl was the logical substitute because he was well known in town. He liked people, and the people liked him.

Captain Calhoun was larger than life in many ways. Tall, good–looking, and weighing in at 300 pounds, he had presence. In his deep blue uniform, wearing red epaulets on his shoulders and a starched, pristine–white shirt, Daryl was a fitting Salvation Army ambassador.

The meeting was going well. But suddenly, the room became very warm—at least it felt that way to Daryl. He was surprised when he noticed perspiration running down his face. He thought, Wow, is it just me, or did somebody turn up the heat in here? Everyone else seemed fine. I’m really not feeling well; maybe I should leave, he thought.

Daryl smiled to everyone as he slowly made his way down the aisle to the exit.

Relieved that he was able to make it that far, he got in his 12–passenger van.

He wanted to get home soon.

After several minutes of highway driving, Daryl felt an excruciating pain in his chest. Then came a horrific burning sensation down his left leg. Oh God, I need to get to a hospital, fast! he said to himself. He felt paralysis coming on. He knew that continuing to drive was risky but sensed that time was of the essence.

As Daryl entered the hospital 38

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driveway, he lost control of the van.

The front wheels hit and jumped the curb. Ironically, a Salvation Army kettle worker who happened to be at the hospital visiting a sick relative witnessed the crash. She recognized the Salvation Army markings on the van and Captain Calhoun inside.

She rushed to the driver’s side door and opened it. All 300 pounds of Daryl fell into the little woman’s arms. He was screaming in pain. The kettle worker managed to get Daryl’s wife’s cell phone number from him and called her. Erika dropped what she was doing and took off for the hospital.

Touch and go

Erika and Daryl Calhoun as cadets (officers in training). www.prioritypeople.org

For the next eight hours, Daryl lay in the emergency room. Doctors at the small Rochester General Hospital worked frantically to stabilize his condition. On Saturday night, they determined that Daryl needed surgery.

He was transported to Strong Memorial Hospital, where a team awaited.

The grim prognosis necessitated that Erika summon the children, ranging in age from 27 to 14: Daryl Jr., Davonne, Chere, Shawna, Darius, and Brittany.

Melinda Greenwood, Daryl’s older sister and his mom, Sarah, arrived from Middletown, Ohio. The family prayed for a miracle but prepared for the worst.

Erika, 11 years younger than Daryl, began to cry as she wondered if she would soon become a widow with children.

Daryl survived the surgery. But a long recovery lay ahead. When doctors released him early from the hospital, Erika 39

Health Matters

became totally responsible for him.

It was hard for Daryl to fathom that his life could come to this. When he had graduated with Middletown High School’s (MHS) class of 1981, he was a five–time varsity award–winner in football and track. He was named all Greater Miami Conference in football his junior and senior seasons and earned all–district and all–state honors his senior year.

In those days, Daryl “Poochie” Calhoun was the epitome of the school’s “Middie Pride.” Wearing purple, the school color, meant he was highly respected for demonstrating MHS’s five tenets: performance, respect, integrity, determination, and effort.

Daryl had also become a legend. In eighth grade, he won the 100–yard dash 40

on a cinder track by diving headfirst across the finish line. To this day, teammates jokingly say that Daryl is still spitting cinders from between his teeth.

Another memorable moment occurred on the football field in high school, when Daryl hurdled over two defenders to score a touchdown.

support from so many After receiving numerous college scholarship offers, Daryl chose to attend Purdue University. When his family members were unable to attend Daryl’s football games, he could count on the neighborhood mail carrier to be there, cheering him on.

All his life, Daryl had been blessed by such people who made a difference— from his loving parents, to a fifth–grade

teacher and her husband who enrolled Daryl in a YMCA program and paid his membership until he was 21, to a large extended family, to a football coach who was like a dad to him.

In 2013, “Poochie” Calhoun was among 14 athletes inducted into the Middletown Athletic Hall of Fame. During his acceptance speech, he paid tribute to his father, Johnny Calhoun, who was in the room. Daryl extended his hand and said, through tears, “Thank you, thank you, thank you, for loving me. You said, ‘I’m gonna love him. He’s my boy!’ ” Then Daryl added, “And because of my father, I had a chance.” He lifted his right hand and concluded by saying, “I pray my strength in the Lord!”

At age 11, Daryl first met The Salvation Army when he received a flyer from www.prioritypeople.org

the Middletown Corps (church) inviting him to summer camp. The summer camp driver, Ruthie Howard, nurtured Daryl as a grandmother would and became his lifelong friend and mentor.

“I became an officer because of that seed that was planted when I was a kid at camp,” Daryl is quoted as saying in an article in Joining Forces, a Salvation Army newsletter.

In 2007, in Hershey, Pa., during his commencement and ordination service, Daryl held the Salvation Army flag high and ran to the top tier of Giant Stadium, his entire graduating class following behind him. For the audience of nearly 8,000, it was an electrifying moment.

A long recovery Now all he could do was reflect on those days gone by when had run like the wind and garnered the cheers of the crowd. Climbing stairs was impossible, as was taking a shower.

Erika, however, was determined to find a way. She rigged an ingenious device using a kiddie pool connected to a plastic outdoor chair and a hose from the kitchen sink. Now, Daryl could shower while remaining seated. She also administered his many medications, took care of the family, and oversaw the church work.

During his long and tedious days of recovery, Daryl longed to be back at church, serving as pastor, meeting the needs of families, and making the Salvation Army’s presence efectively known in the community. During the Christmas season in Rochester, Daryl www.prioritypeople.org

had been responsible for 60 Salvation Army kettle stands, which raised annually a total of nearly $600,000.

Determined to make his way back, Daryl one day decided to go with Erika to a meeting for area Salvation Army officers. He managed to climb the steps to the room successfully, but then a fire alarm went off, and everyone evacuated the building. With the elevators shut down, the Calhouns joined the exodus via several flights of stairs.

‘The subject of health is in all my sermons now.’

When the meeting resumed, Daryl and Erika were not there. “I can’t make it,” he had said to her as he struggled to climb the stairs. “It’s my leg! Too much pain.” As they returned to the car, Erika masked her fear and disappointment.

Nevertheless, she stood by Daryl because she knew that now, more than ever, their congregation would be observing their response to this test of their faith in God.

Body as temple Today, Daryl takes nothing for granted.

“I’m grateful for every day, for my wife and for my family,” he says. And since the deaths of his brother–in–law and cousin, as well as his own near–death crisis, much has changed in Daryl’s life.

“The subject of health is in all my sermons now,” Daryl says. He and Erika

are now corps officers (pastors) at Pittsburgh’s Homewood–Brushton Corps.

He tells his congregation about his high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and diabetes. And he also tells them what he’s doing about it.

“I eat only baked, steamed, broiled, and stir–fried foods,” he says with a smile, “much to the dismay of my wonderful aunts, who enjoy cooking for me those delicious fried food dishes.”

Daryl also eats a lot of fish and salad and stays away from sweets.

“No more sweet potato pie, no more peach cobbler!” he laughs.

As a high school senior, Daryl weighed 175 pounds. By the time he was on Purdue’s football team, he weighed 193. When he ran to the top tier of the Giants Stadium as he became a Salvation Army officer, he weighed 300.

“Today, my goal is to bring my weight down to 190 pounds—doctors’ orders!”

Perhaps the greatest lesson Daryl has learned is that, spiritually, your heart must be right with God and physically, your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.

“God is calling us to holiness. The Apostle Paul writes in his letter to the Galatians, ‘Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires.’ (5:24) If we are going to be true followers, we must march toward danger, seek God with our whole heart, and continue to seek personal holiness.”

For Daryl, holiness is also healthiness—and he conveys that message every day.

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A Salvation Army Christmas

Half a Century of Bell–Ringing

by Gail Wood

C

huck Mulligan was a young man when he first rang the bell for Salvation Army’s red kettle campaign in 1962. This Christmas, he will volunteer as a Salvation Army bell–ringer for the 51st year.

He’s become a Christmas tradition in his hometown of Vancouver, Wash.

“I’ve got the third generation coming up now and making donations,” Chuck says. “I’ve seen little kids grow up. And I see familiar faces every year.

I’m always amazed at the generosity of people here. It’s inspirational.”

The reason for his commitment is simple.

“I think The Salvation Army is really a good organization,” Chuck says. “Being on the Salvation Army’s advisory board for a number of years, I could see all the good things they do in the community.”

started at 27 Chuck was 27 when he volunteered for his first red–kettle drive. He turned 78 in October and he’s still collecting donations for the Salvation Army.

It’s Chuck’s way of helping.

“He’s a fantastic guy. Very outgoing.

Very personable,” says Dewey Weber, the Army’s red kettle coordinator for Vancouver. “He does an outstanding job for us every single year. He’s a fixture in the kettle world here in Vancouver.”

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Chuck has missed the yearly red– kettle drive just once since John F. Kennedy was president. It was in 1992, and he had a good excuse. He had colon cancer and was undergoing chemo and radiation treatments.

“I was pretty sick,” Chuck says. “I was too sick that year to ring the bells.”

Lots of conversations Chuck, who worked as a real estate appraiser for 46 years until he retired five years ago, has a friendly, easygoing way about him. He’s had lot of conversations over the years as people put their donations in the red kettle. They have often

shared stories of how The Salvation Army was there when they needed help.

“Quite often people will say they were involved in a flood or a fire or some kind of disaster,” Chuck says. “And The Salvation Army came to their aid. They appreciated that.”

The place where Chuck rings the bell has shifted over the years. But his attitude has remained the same.

“Chuck brings a great inspiration every year to us and really ramps up our volunteers to help us raise money for The Salvation Army,” Weber says. “He’s committed.” www.prioritypeople.org

Serving Together

Finding a Home At Chicago Kroc Center Photos Š John Konstantaras/AP Images

by Major Darlene Harvey

Serving Together

S

aeed Richardson was volunteering for the second year for a “Real Men Cook” event. He learned that this year it would be held in conjunction with the grand opening of the Chicago Ray & Joan Kroc Corps Community Center, run by The Salvation Army.

So he “googled” the Kroc Center to

find the exact address and discovered that it wasn’t just a meeting place but a church—and that drew him in.

Ever since Saeed had relocated to Chicago two years earlier, he and his wife, Anne, had been praying that God would lead them and their children to a church that would be right for all of

them. Anne says that it’s always been important to her and Saeed that they not be just “Sunday attenders” but that they live out their faith in ministry each day.

He says they had visited many good churches, but none of them seemed to fill the void that was in their hearts for

Saeed teaches a ‘stepping’ class for boys.

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www.prioritypeople.org

everyone in their family—including Jeslyn, 8, and Jonathan, 4—to feel a part of ministry.

When Saeed read the Salvation Army’s mission and the history of the Kroc Center, he says he felt confirmed in his heart even more that this could be the church for them.

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When the family visited, they realized that they all had found their “own place.”

‘Impact’ meeting Anne and Saeed’s preparation to worship and minister at the Kroc Center began when they met as college students

at Virginia Tech (VT). Anne was part of Campus Crusade for Christ and was leading an “Impact” Bible study, a ministry for African–American students on campus. One day, Saeed attended.

At the time, he was about to graduate from VT and preparing to receive his ordination in the African Methodist

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Serving Together

Episcopal Church. After finishing at VT, he started studies at Duke University Divinity School.

In the midst of a cold and blustery January in 1999, Anne and Saeed were married and began a life together in Durham, N.C. Here, God allowed the two of them to grow in their personal relationship and in their ministry. Anne spent a year working full–time with Campus Crusade while Saeed served as an associate and youth pastor at two local churches.

And the two of them started a new Impact campus ministry at Duke—a ministry that still runs today. They were able to experience God’s hand at work in the life of university students and to develop a number of relationships with students that they still maintain today.

After receiving his ordination in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Saeed pastored two Virginia churches.

Over the span of three years, Anne and Saeed served mostly older congregations in impoverished rural areas.

They learned much in their time in these churches; God even allowed Saeed to be a mentor for a 60–year–old man walking the path of ordination.

Planting A healing church Wanting to learn a new set of ministry skills, Anne and Saeed began to aid in planting a new church in Cary, N.C. Then the Lord led them to pioneer a new church in Durham, N.C., focused on supporting young people, ages 18–35, who were not a part of a church family. They found that most of those 46

who came who had been hurt in other churches.

Saeed and Anne started their ministry in their home and saw God perform miracles as their congregation found healing from past hurts and grew in their love of Christ. When they outgrew their living room, God opened the doors for them to move into a Jewish Ministry Student Center.

During this time, the Richardsons never took a salary, but God provided for them. Through his work at the Duke University School of Medicine and a software development company Saeed had co–founded, God sustained their family. The company was successful; the number of clients grew. And a particular rapport developed with one client, the University of Chicago. Impressed by the work Saeed had done at Duke and with the business he had started, the university sought out Saeed and offered him a job in Chicago.

Chicago Bound Although it was a challenge to leave the church they had led for three years, Anne and Saeed felt God was opening new doors. So, in June 2010, they began the transition from North Carolina to Chicago. In an answer to their prayers, after they moved, Anne and Saeed saw how God allowed all the members of their former church to find new church homes, where they continue to grow spiritually and contribute to ministry.

God provided for the Richardsons during this move and allowed Saeed to become the associate director of the www.prioritypeople.org

Anne works with girls on praise dancing.

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Serving Together

The Richardsons: Jonathan, Saeed, Jesyln, and Anne

University of Chicago Medical Simulation Center. Working with doctors, nurses, residents, and medical students, he leads the center, which develops curriculum and training programs for health–care providers both locally and nationally.

Through his work, Saeed and Anne cultivated a number of relationships, which resulted in their also being hired as resident heads for the institution. Living in a campus residence hall, they lead a house of 120 undergraduate students, where they serve as counselors, advisors, mentors—“Mom and Dad away from home”—during the academic year.

In the fall of 2010, Saeed was asked 48

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to become a part of “Real Docs Cook,” a group from the University of Chicago Medical Center who volunteer during the annual Real Men Cook Father’s Day event. It was during Saeed’s second year volunteering that the event was hosted at the Kroc Center and the Richardsons’ life in The Salvation Army began.

Plunging into Kroc ministry Since being at the Kroc, Anne and Saeed have seen how God has brought each one of them to The Salvation Army to become a part of ministry.

Anne and Saeed were enrolled as soldiers (members). Jeslyn, who was enrolled as a junior soldier last December, takes pride in her new role and wears a uniform; she says feels as if she is representing God to the world. Anne says she has grown by leaps and bounds spiritually.

Anne and Saeed are grateful that their 4–year–old son, Jonathan, is cared for and learns much in the Kid Zone.

They are amazed at how they have seen their pre–schooler grow in his prayer life and talk about his Bible lessons at home.

Anne says their whole family loves being connected to the Army’s mission and feel that they are making contributions to the ministry.

“My children have fallen in love with the Kroc Center,” Anne says. “It’s evident in the tears my 4–year–old son cries at having to leave the church, and the tears my 8–year–old daughter sheds when she cannot come. I count it a blessing to know they cry for the opportunities to be at church.” www.prioritypeople.org

Anne and Saeed are currently leading the couples ministry at the Kroc Center, where God is using them to help people grow stronger in their relationships.

Kroc Center, God not only answered their prayers but also the prayers of the Kroc Center leaders. The Kroc Center needed more leaders to expand its mission and focus.

Major Darlene Harvey, officer for program development at the Kroc Center, says, “God is so good in working and using all events and circumstances such as a ‘Grand Opening Real Men Cook’ event to bring people into His work and ministry.”

‘… I believe we are all called not to live a passive, ‘holy–huddle’ life experience but Taking the next step Richardsons are now interested in rather an active The becoming Salvation Army officers. They life of service.’ are preparing to go to the College for —Anne Richardson Lieutenant Denesia Polusca, youth development officer, says she is thankful for the Richardsons because one of the focuses for the next year is to reach more young adults, and one of the couple’s passions is college ministry.

Anne is part of the praise team and uses her gifts in praise dancing. She loves prayer ministry and working with women, and she is teaching the preteen Sunday school class.

Saeed has the gift of leadership and enjoys connecting to people. He leads Bible studies and Sunday school. In addition, he works with the boys in the corps in a “stepping” class. The boys enjoy using their energy in creative dance “man–style” while glorifying and praising God. When Saeed and Anne came to the

Officer Training in a couple of years, after Saeed completes his M.Div. “What excites me about officership is the opportunity to serve alongside my wife in Christian service,” says Saeed.

In The Salvation Army, when couples are ordained and commissioned, each partner is a full–fledged officer.

“Being engaged in full–time ministry with my wife has been a long–lost dream since we were in college. To realize that dream brings joy and excitement to my heart and our relationship.”

“My heart deeply resonates with the Salvation Army’s motto, ‘Saved to Serve,’ ” Anne says.

“As a Christian, I believe we are all called not to live a passive, ‘holy–huddle’ life experience but rather an active life of service to the community around us. The Salvation Army breathes this charge of demonstrated Christian service to the world.”

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Salvation Factory is an imaginarium in which engineers of Salvationism focus on innovation in research, development and design, providing resources and training which support and enchance the mission of The Salvation Army.

Research Understanding the essentials of Salvationism and the ever changing culture—researching the past, the present, and the future.

Develop Exploring the best strategies to save souls, disciple, train and mobilize Salvationists—developing the best resources, programs and tools for ministry and mission.

Train Facilitating specialized formal and informal learning—training Salvationists to use the new tools developed by the factory.

Design Engineering the interface between Salvationist essentials, the next generation and new technologies— designing new media infrastructures to accelerate Salvationist mission.

Resource Collaborating with the front-lines in order to research, develop and design the best tools that will enhance the mission—resourcing with time, personnel and products.

USA Eastern Territory

Salvation Factory www.salvationfactory.org

Prayer Power

Culture of Prayer

by Anne Urban

‘Prayer is one of the easiest ways to break down walls and build relationships.’

—Esteban Pommier

T

he young man had just been released from jail when he started attending the Salvation Army’s Warsaw, Ind., Corps (church). He was also still addled by the brain injury he had suffered when his motorcycle crashed in a high– speed police chase.

But Christ’s transforming power, plus regular prayer and counseling sessions with Lieutenant Esteban Pommier, the corps officer (pastor), began turning the young man’s life around. Once all alone in the world, he said he was happy to be ensconced within a “new family”—church members who loved and accepted him unconditionally.

His brain injury, however, prevented him from remembering to keep appointments with his parole officer. In trouble with the law again, he turned himself in and received more jail time. But this time around, he was overwhelmed with cards and visits from his corps family.

When Esteban and his wife, Lieutenant Karen Pommier, arrived at the corps in 2011 as cadets (Salvation Army officers in training), they had one purpose in mind: to bring glory to

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God through the spiritual growth of their soldiers (members) and staff.

The Pommiers’ current goal for the corps is to build a culture of prayer, starting with themselves and their staff. Esteban reports the response from social service clients to offers of prayer from staff during consultations is 100 percent.

“Prayer is one of the easiest ways to break down walls and build relationships,” adds Esteban. “It’s been instrumental in bridging families into the corps.”

Preferring the term “guests” instead of clients, Esteban says, “Opportunities for prayer are part of every guest consultation, each of which is at least a half hour, for case management counseling to work on resolving root problems rather than just handing out ‘band–aid’ financial assistance.”

In addition to the one–on–one prayers, the Pommiers and their staff meet each Monday morning to pray.

Last year a major prayer concern was the need for more volunteer help around the corps. Since then faithful helpers have emerged to take care of daily and weekly needs, from snow shoveling on up. Students from Grace College also began regularly volunteering, particularly with youth programs.

One young volunteer who is adored by the young boys and girls of the Salvation Army’s Moonbeams program also now attends the corps and helps lead worship. The Pommiers even have people ready and willing to fill in for their pastoral and administrative tasks when they’re absent.

It’s the culture of prayer that has made the difference.

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Prayer Power

A Double–Stroke Miracle

by Kelly Collins

medicine, lay down, and the headache went away.

Tuesday morning I woke up with the worst headache I’d ever had. I took as much ibuprofen as I could and stayed in bed but could not shake it. Finally, I had a friend take me to urgent care, where I told them, “I think I have a migraine.”

The doctor there said, “Well, because you don’t have the visual problems that normally coincide with a migraine, you’ve just earned yourself a CT scan. I’m going to send you over to the emergency room.”

From there, I don’t remember much. But I was told later that I actually was in the midst of not one, but two, major strokes. The pain in my eye turned out to be a clot in my sinuses that caused one of them. At the same time, I was having a “bleed” that eventually covered one quarter of my brain.

‘Nothing we can do’

O

n Sept. 29, 2009, a Sunday, my husband, Jesse, and I were returning home after worshiping at a Salvation Army church, the Escanaba, Mich., Corps. As was our habit, I was behind the wheel and Jesse was asleep. As I drove, I kept glancing at beautiful Lake Michigan next to me over and over again. But every time I turned my head, I got a strange pain in my eye. By the time we got home, I had a headache. So I took some ibuprofen and went to bed.

The next morning, I had several women at my house for a Bible study, and I felt fine. After they left, I was getting ready for work and started getting a headache. I went to the office but could not get rid of it. So I went home, took some

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The problem was: You deal with a clot by thinning the blood, and you deal with a bleed by thickening the blood. If they thickened my blood, it would thicken that clot. If they thinned my blood, the bleed would get worse. So the doctor came in and, from what I’ve been told, lifted up his hands, backed out of the room, and told Jesse, “I’m sorry Mr. Collins, there’s nothing we can do. We can just make her comfortable, but there is nothing we can do.”

At this point, I was so bad—I only remember bits and pieces—that I often did not even know my own name. At one point I do remember answering, “John 3:16,” then saying, “No, that’s not right.” But that’s all that would come to mind.

I couldn’t recall anything that had to do with numbers: time, music, or sums. I remember the doctors saying to me, “Do you know what day it is?” I would tell them, and then they would say, “Do you know what date it is?” I remember thinking, “Well that’s just silly, that’s the same thing.” But that’s because I was confusing those things.

As they were just making me comfortable and basically waiting for me to die, a doctor attached to that hospital who www.prioritypeople.org

happened to be—in God’s providence—one of the top 10 neurologists in the country, was flying to Milwaukee from India. He had heard about my case and said he believed there was something he might be able to do.

When he met with my husband, he said, “This procedure I’m about to do could kill her immediately or will likely do nothing, but it might be something that could help. We’ll know within four hours of the procedure.”

Prayer chain takes hold In the meantime, the Salvation Army world had begun to pray. People from around the Central Territory, the United States, around the world, were praying. And right before the doctor came in, Jesse had gotten an email from a cadet we had trained who is now an officer in Africa.

He wrote to my husband, “We’ve heard about Major Kelly, and we’re praying in Africa.” Jesse says that at that point it felt like warmth covered his body from head to toe, and God was saying, “I will take care of her, she is going to recover.”

When the doctor said he didn’t know whether this procedure was going to work or not, Jesse said to him, “She’s going to be OK.” At that point the doctor offered him a psych consult. But he said, “No, I’m telling you, God has told me He is going to see her through this.”

Within 30 minutes after the procedure, the doctor called Jesse and was downright giddy. “She’s already showing signs of improvement.” To which my husband replied, “I know. I told you, God promised that He would work this out.”

The very next day I left the ICU and went into intermediate care. The day after that I went into the rehab center.

Although I was showing great signs of improvement, I still had great obstacles to overcome. I had what they called a “cut” in my right eye, with half of my vision blinded in that eye.

I could barely read anymore. I didn’t know what the words meant. My mother, husband, and children helped me read the get–well cards that were pouring in. I was able to stumble www.prioritypeople.org

through only two or three before becoming exhausted.

But I started to improve rapidly. While I was being wheeled to the ophthalmologist in the hospital, I suddenly realized I could see out of my right eye again and was given a clean bill of health from that specialist.

I went home after a week or so in rehab, went back to my master’s program within three months, and finished it in May 2011. I had regained nearly everything I lost.

I still can’t do numbers, but I thank God he leaves some of those scars within me. They are my “Ebenezers,” the memorial stones that God has left in my life to say, “Look what I have brought you out of; look what I’ve healed you from.”

You see, like the children of Israel, I have such a tendency to forget what God has done for me, and He is still a miracle– working God. But if I go out to dinner with you, help me with the tip, will you? Because I can’t figure it out.

The writer is a Salvation Army major.

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Prayer Power

In Stillness, God Was There

by Robin Schmidt

I

t began with lightheadedness and mild nausea on a humid July day. Thinking I had come down with an ear infection, I left work early. My discomfort didn’t seem too far out of the ordinary at first, but as the week dragged into the weekend, I felt worse and very weak.

At that point I started to think it might be the flu or that I’d become dehydrated—although deep down I knew something was very wrong. I didn’t want to believe it because I didn’t have time.

As a single mom of a 12–year–old son and with a mortgage and endless bills, being ill for an extended period of time was not an option. Who would care for my son? Who would pay my bills?

On my third visit to the emergency room, anxious for answers, I tried desperately to get out of the car and into the hospital, but I’d become too sick to walk in the door. As hospital staff wheeled me in from the car, all I could do was pray, “Dear God, give the doctors wisdom.”

God answered my prayer. I was diagnosed with necrotizing fasciitis, a flesh–eating bacteria, which I contracted from having an unprotected cut while swimming in a lake. It killed a large portion of flesh on my left leg, and the infection was poisoning my blood stream, affecting my liver and kidney function. I needed surgery immediately or I would die. The doctors realized what the problem was just in time. I was too sick to even think about what the doctor was saying, but I had an overwhelming sense of peace about it. I don’t remember anything until I woke up in the recovery room.

God gave the doctors the wisdom and the skill to remove the infection, but that was just the beginning. I spent the next month in the hospital. Because the infection was deep, the wound could not be closed; it had to heal from the inside out.

It needed to be dressed several times a day, so I was stuck in the hospital until I could learn to care for it myself.

After my release came another two months housebound.

I know there was a lot of physical pain during that time, but 54

God has taken away the worst part of that memory.

What I do remember is praying. I had so much to pray about: my recovery, my son, my finances, and my job. When could I get back to work? Would they hold my job? Who is caring for my son? How will I pay my bills? Did the surgeon get everything?

A chorus I learned when I was young continually played in my head: “Be still and know that I am God, Be still and know that I am God, Be still and know that I am God.” A huge blessing was spending time in prayer with friends, family, and my corps officers (pastors), Majors Bob and Ruth Fay, of the Racine, Wisc., Corps (church).

“We believe that through prayer [Robin] is alive,” Major Ruth says.

God’s grace saw me through this trial. He provided for my son and me spiritually, physically, and financially. Friends and family came from all over and surrounded us with love and care. I’ve never felt the power of prayer work in a more practical way than through this experience. When you say to someone, “I will pray for you,” do it. It changes lives. It changed mine.

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51 Years Ago

Joystrings Join ‘British Invasion’

by Daryl Lach ‘The Joystrings’ were originally a large group.

Photos Courtesy Salvation Army International Heritage Centre

I

n October 1963, Salvation Army General–Elect Frederick Coutts said it would be his priority to reach young people.

“If we need to, we will take up electric guitars and go into coffeehouses!” he said.

He didn’t know that within weeks, a great cultural shift would take place when four young, long–haired musicians from Liverpool released their first hit single, “I Wanna Hold Your Hand.” In the United States, the “British Invasion” began. Quite by accident, the Salvation Army’s Joystrings became part of it.

The BBC had asked for a sampling of new Salvation Army sound, so several young officers–in–training—including two men who owned guitars but didn’t know how to play them— www.prioritypeople.org

led by Captain Joy Webb, were thrown into the fray. After several television appearances, The Joystrings’ first EMI record release, “It’s An Open Secret,” hit the pop charts at #32 in February 1964.

Six thousand–plus people held up traffic in central London watching them perform on the steps of St. Paul’s Cathedral.

Gigs followed in concert halls, coffeehouses, and the Blue Angel and Playboy nightclubs. All the royalties from their recordings and concerts went to help the downtrodden.

In the U.S., early video and press releases stressed the novelty of uniformed young people, with girls in poke bonnets, belting out songs and gyrating to never–before–heard Christian rock. They became fodder for late–night comedy shows 55

The ‘final five’ Joystrings were (l-r in above photo) Wycliffe Noble, Sylvia Gair, Joy Webb, Peter Dalziel, and Bill Davidson

and lighthearted material to end Sunday night newscasts, with the tag line “Look what England’s sending us now!”

Christian pop star Sir Cliff Richard, in his foreword to Sylvia Dalziel’s recently released book, The Joystrings: The Story of The Salvation Army Pop Group, credits the group for paving the way for other Christian musicians at a time “when guitars in church, let alone music with a beat … were a definite no– no.” Dalziel, then Sylvia Gair, married Peter Dalziel.

They were two of the five “final” Joystrings from 1965 onward.

Critics abounded. A famous American evangelist con 56

demned The Salvation Army for resorting to such tactics.

Conservative Christians, including Salvationists, who forgot about an earlier time when brass bands were considered scandalous, complained that God couldn’t possibly like The Joystrings; Wycliffe, the drummer, looked like a beatnik!

Retired Major Joy Webb, who was admitted to the Army’s Order of the Founder for her musical leadership, still stands by The Joystrings, which lasted until 1968.

“Hundreds and hundreds of people made decisions for Christ … and you can’t knock that, can you? That’s what it was all about. Thank God.” www.prioritypeople.org

Perfect for

CHRISTMAS GIVING! A New Samuel Logan Brengle Yearlong Devotional Book!

Take Time to be Holy contains a year’s worth of classic selections from Samuel Logan Brengle, the Salvation Army’s “apostle of holiness.” Each day’s reading will deepen your understanding of what holiness is; how, through God’s grace, it is available to each of us; and how experiencing it will make God more real to you than ever.

From Tyndale Momentum, an imprint of Tyndale House Publishers

Published in cooperation with The Salvation Army

“A splendid book.”

—Leonard Sweet

“Samuel Logan Brengle embodies for me everything I could imagine a holy person could be.”

—Gordon MacDonald

Available for Kindle & Nook!

ORDER TODAY A portion of all sales will benefit The Salvation Army.

BULK OFFER FOR U.S. SALVATION ARMY DIVISIONS AND TERRITORIES (Retail Price: $15.99) More than 1,000 copies $4.00 per copy (75% off!)* Up to 1,000 copies** $4.80 per copy (70% off!)* *Shipping not included. ** Minimum order to receive discount: 25 Bulk discounts apply to orders shipped to one address, ordered at the same time.

To order, contact doris.marasigan@use. salvationarmy.org or call 845-620-7439.

Ring a virtual bell.

Help real people.

ONLINEREDKETTLE.ORG Host your very own kettle. Ring a virtual bell online or through your mobile device. And watch as lives are changed for good.

MORE REASONS TO LOVE YOUR JOB. Save with discounts on Sprint monthly service through your workplace.

Plus, for a limited time, get a $100 Visa® Prepaid Card for eligible new line activations. Sprint encourages "Doing the most good" by donating a portion of these funds to The Salvation Army's Red Kettle Campaign.

Act now! Offer ends 12/31/2013.

Trade in your old phone from any carrier.

Get account credit for eligible devices through the Sprint Buyback Program.

Visit sprint.com/buyback for details.

OFFERS FOR THE SALVATION ARMY EMPLOYEES AND ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS

SAVE WITH DISCOUNTS

20

%

off select regularly priced Sprint monthly service.

Req. new 2-yr agmt.

GET A REWARD

100

$

Sprint will donate $5 to The Salvation Army’s Red Kettle Campaign for each new Salvation Army activation by 12/31/2013.

(Sprint will donate up to $1,000)

NEWLY INCREASED 20% DISCOUNT!

Visa Prepaid Card for eligible new line activations, for a limited time.

Claim your reward at sprint.com/promo/IL80434VT

Req. new 2-yr agmt/activation.

Call: 866-639-8354 Click: sprint.com/salvationarmy Visit a local Sprint Store: sprint.com/storelocator Use this code to claim your discount. Corporate ID: NASVA_ZZZ

Activ. Fee: $36/line. Credit approval req. Early Termination Fee (sprint.com/etf): After 14 days, up to $350/line. Individual-liable Discount: Available for eligible company or org. employees (ongoing verification).

Discounts subject to change according to the company’s agreement with Sprint and are available upon request for monthly svc charges on select plans. No discounts apply to second lines, Add-A-Phone lines, Unlimited Talk, Text, My All-in Plan, Mobile Hotspot or add-ons $29.99 or less (excludes Unlimited, My Way Data). $29.99 or less. IL Visa Prepaid Card Offer:. Offer ends 12/31/2013. IL only. While supplies last.

Excludes tablets. Device requires activation at point of sale. Visa Prepaid Card request must be made at sprint.com/promo or Visa Prepaid Card will be declined. New-line must remain active and in good standing for 30 days to receive Visa Prepaid Card. Subject to CL corporate gifting policy. Allow 10-12 wks for delivery. May not be combinable with other offers. Other req. may apply for installment customers. See store or sprint.com for details. Visa Prepaid Card: Cards are issued by Citibank, N.A. pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. and managed by Citi Prepaid Svcs. Cards will not have cash access and can be used everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted. Sprint Buyback: Offer ends 12/31/2013. Limit of 3 returned devices per active mobile number during one 12 month period. Phone must be deactivated and all personal data deleted before recycling. Device will not be returned. Credit varies depending on phone condition and valuation. Credit applied to store purchase or account within 3 invoices. Also available at sprintbuyback.com. Other Terms: Offers and coverage not available everywhere or for all phones/networks. Restrictions apply. See store or sprint.com for details. ©2013 Sprint. All rights reserved. Sprint and the logo are trademarks of Sprint. Android, Google, the Google logo and Google Play are trademarks of Google Inc. Other marks are the property of their respective owners.

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